


Turn Around, Bright Eyes

by Tagide



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Blood, Cabin In The Woods! AU, Forests, Horror, Kissing, M/M, Pie Baking, Supernatural Creature! Seonghwa, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:41:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27072166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tagide/pseuds/Tagide
Summary: Prompt:"Hongjoong decides to take a week-long vacation to a cabin in the woods. Two nights in, he starts getting visited by a stranger at night"
Relationships: Kim Hongjoong/Park Seonghwa
Comments: 7
Kudos: 63
Collections: All Hallows ATEEZ Exchange





	Turn Around, Bright Eyes

**Author's Note:**

  * For [werisingsun](https://archiveofourown.org/users/werisingsun/gifts).



Choosing a career based on creativity was a tough choice, to say the least. Hongjoong was very happy as a music producer but that didn’t mean it didn’t have its ups and downs. Relying on his creativity was, more often than not a game of luck. As a young music producer, Hongjoong was successful in many ways: he had royalties on a couple of hit songs and had a contract with one of the most popular entertainment companies in the music industry. Honestly, his life had improved after signing the contract; he no longer had to force his inspiration to pay for his rent. All of that aside, Hongjoong still suffered quite frequently from writer's block, or composer’s block to be more rigorous. Curing them had become… challenging. At first, simply browsing the internet for inspiration had been enough, sometimes he’d watch a film or a documentary. Then, there were record shops, so many record shops, and now somehow at the brink of despair, Hongjoong had resorted to the internet’s most famed “writer’s block cures”. And that’s how Hongjoong found himself at the parking lot of this particular cabin rental. The Great King’s Hideout was a very popular destination for those who sought inspiration, at least that was how the website described it.

It looked rather empty with only a few cars parked in Hongjoong’s immediate surroundings. Hongjoong descended from his car and proceeded to take out his bags from the backseat. Although he’d booked two weeks he was a light packer having brought just clothes and necessities as well as his laptop, in case inspiration decided to come.

He made his way to the quaint little reception building, the doors were made out of polished redwood and the rest of it was made out of logs, just like any other log cabin he’d seen, except for the decorations which were very kitsch. Frilly curtains contoured the overworked wooden windows, including the little window imbued in the door. Hongjoong pushed the door open expecting the ring of a bell, none came but soon enough there was a computerized bird chirping announcing his arrival. From the corner of his eye, Hongjoong noticed the very ugly nightingale figurine that produced the awful sound. He couldn’t fathom why would anyone choose that instead of a bell.

There was no one at the desk so he made his way towards a big plaid chair in the cramped waiting area. Strangely the ceiling was higher than it seemed from the outside, the walls were lathered with decorations, ranging from ugly bird figurines such as the herald or even trinkets and toys that helped with the whole kitsch look. Hongjoong heard footsteps echoing through the hardwood flooring and a young-looking man came from a side door behind the desk.

“Good morning! Welcome to the Great King’s Hideout,” the man said in a jovial yet soothing tone. He was very… pretty, that was the only word that came to Hongjoong’s mind while describing the young man. “You must be Mr. Kim Hongjoong, is that correct? My name is Yeosang I am the owner and receptionist, so if you need anything, feel free to come to me.” Hongjoong nodded and walked towards the desk. “Well, let’s begin the check-in then. I will need your ID, please,” he said as he started to type on the hidden computer behind the desk.

Hongjoong quickly searched his bag for his wallet and produced his ID card. Yeosang, having typed all the information he needed from Hongjoong’s card, handed it back.

“You made a reservation for a 1 bedroom with bathroom isolated cabin, correct?” He looked at Hongjoong, who only then noticed the grey almost white irises of the other, despite the light colour they looked deep as if they were pulling him in .Hongjoong limited himself to nodding, too shaken to form words. “Total duration of 14 nights, right?”

This time Hongjoong managed a quiet hum in affirmation. Yeosang turned and grabbed a gnarly key from a little hook next to various others, from the keychain a small plate read in cursive: ‘6’.

“You will be staying at our most isolated cabin, as per requested.” He smiled at Hongjoong, as he walked around the desk to meet him. “Do you need any help with the bags?”

“No, thank you, it’s only a few things.” Hongjoong replied.

“Well, it’s a bit of a long walk, around 10 minutes, so, please, do tell if you need any help,” Yeosang chirped as he threw a smile in Hongjoong’s direction. “Let’s get going so you can get settled.”

When they exited the little reception cabin through an exuberant carved wooden door into the pathway that lead up to the different cabins, the sun was almost at its peak. Even so, the October air was chilly against his skin. Maybe Hongjoong should have put on a thicker sweater; he would surely do that as soon as he settled in his cabin, before wandering around. The paths diverged from each other as the different cabins came to view, most of them quite far from the main path or too covered with vegetation for Hongjoong to be able to see any detail. They reached a small clearing that had a simple convivial area with thick log benches and an extinguished campfire in the middle, looking around he noticed little lanterns hidden amongst the branches of the birch and oak trees surrounding the area.

“This is one of our social spots, mostly used by larger groups, but at this time of the year it is very peaceful, even at night,” Yeosang said, startling Hongjoong who hadn’t noticed the other had stopped, too mesmerized with the dense forest and overall the serene atmosphere that had been settling in the further they walked into the woods. “Up until now the path was somewhat straightforward, I’m afraid this is where it’ll get a tiny bit trickier. You just have to remember to turn left at the clearing and right after the stone bridge.” Yeosang pointed at the path that continued to their left.

“Thank you, that doesn’t seem too hard to memorize, I guess,” Hongjoong said.

“Ready?” Yeosang questioned.

“Sure!”

As they made their way through the Great King’s hideout, Hongjoong was feeling very happy with the place he’d chosen to quench his thirst for inspiration. He had been wanting to visit this forest for the longest time, the idea of getting lost in the woods sounding like heaven to him ‒ of course in a much romanticized way, not the Man Versus Wild style, that wasn’t particularly his cup of tea. ‒ Getting caught in the trails of an evergreen forest and finding Totoro’s den or maybe following a butterfly into a magical kingdom. That sounded a lot more appealing to his ears. His mind was swimming through the endless fantastical scenarios that could happen in these couple of weeks as he mindlessly followed Yeosang. Suddenly, or maybe Hongjoong was that distracted, Yeosang came to a halt. He turned around and gestured to the smallish cabin behind him.

“This is it, cabin number 6, “he said with a big smile, “let’s go in, shall we?”

They both made their way through the little fence that outlined the porch of the cabin. From the outside, it didn’t look too big. Maybe he wouldn´t feel as lonely as he feared. It was quite taller than he had imagined from what he’d gathered from the pictures online. It was fully made of dark oak wood with logs covering all the outer walls. Tiny windows carefully placed here and there, almost entirely covered with overgrown ivies and other greenery Hongjoong couldn’t yet name. The whole building looked straight out of a fairy tale.

“It does, doesn’t it?” Yeosang replied while giving Hongjoong a knowing smile. He was unsure if he had said that out loud or if Yeosang had simply read his mind. Maybe it was the childlike awe in Hongjoong’s expression that had given his thoughts away. “Here is the key.” Yeosang handed it over to him. “It has more than one room but since your request was based on isolation this was the only and perfect fit. This is far into the woods enough that no one will hear you scream.”

He flashed Hongjoong a million dollar smile that fell as soon as he made eye contact with the confusion-wide eyes Hongjoong displayed.

“Oh my! That usually plays out a lot better with couples, I meant it was very quiet and peaceful, that’s all!” The owner of the establishment apologised, but despite the apologetic discourse the expression behind the nearly white irises was… blank, emotionless even. Hongjoong unconsciously shivered.

-

He had just finished hanging his last jacket inside the spacious wardrobe on the upstairs loft area. Yeosang had helped him get his belongings inside before bidding him a nice stay and pointing out he’d always be available through the phone. He looked at the almost out-of-place feature right on top of the bedside table, its sleek design so foreign in the rustic ambiance of the cabin ‒ a painful reminder that this was a hotel. Hongjoong had taken his time arranging his belongings throughout the little cabin. Whoever had designed the place was skilful, the whole house looked and felt small and cosy but at the same time it wasn’t claustrophobic, it flowed nicely, instinctively.The loft area was tiny, fitting right between the three walls opposite the front door, the sloped ceiling offering an even tinier feel to the whole upstairs area.

Hongjoong wasn’t a particularly big individual, maybe not even generally big ‒ okay he was short, so what? Height was only considered advantageous for some sports, and Hongjoong hated sports, so there was nothing he couldn’t do just because he was short ‒ at least he was rarely at risk of banging his head into the ceiling. Unlike one of his closest friends, Mingi, who constantly had bumps on his head because of the low-hanging door frames of their studios.

He was drifting away back to the studio, he’d promised himself no more of that. Usually when his brain wanted to escape introspection and self-reflection, it would play out memories of his friends or events in order to distract itself from the task at hand.

Now he was here, in the woods, he had one mission to accomplish, get rid of this horrible creative drought that had been driving him and his boss insane for the past month, and one of his main goals was to fully be there, in the present, not drifting through his memories of somewhere else, distracting himself. He had set a couple of objectives and even laid out a task plan to keep his hands busy and try to coax his creativity out of them.

He walked over to the couch in the living area, grabbing his small backpack and producing his notebook. The small living area was directed towards the biggest window in the whole cabin, it overlooked the forest, right at its foot. Maybe if Hongjoong woke early enough he’d be able to spot some wild animals. Hongjoong had always wanted to see a fox.

He looked down at his notes taking in all the scribbles from the night before. ‘Morning walk’ it said at the start of each day, carefully planned in the neat timetable. Hongjoong spared a glance at the wall clock. The swirly pointers of the cuckooesque clock read eleven forty-something. Not exactly morning. The journey was weighing on Hongjoong´s shoulders, somehow not even after five years of driving had ridden his arms from the tenseness with which he held the wheel. He decided he’d take a power nap first and only after lunch he would explore the forest surrounding his cabin. Too wore down Hongjoong resigned to nap on the couch, it was the quickest way and the soft suede of the cushions was feeling very inviting. Hongjoong grabbed the fluffy wool blankets draped across the couch and set a pillow for his pounding head. He hadn’t even notice he had a headache. As soon as he was comfy and warm beneath the soft wool, sleep pulled at his mind, like a hand guiding him away from consciousness.

The wind was softly ruffling the leaves outside of the big window. 

-

Hongjoong woke with the disconcerting feeling of being watched. His eyes flew open. He looked through the wide glass of the window. The forest looked as peaceful as it had been, perhaps a bit darker as the sun was almost setting ‒ wait, how long had Hongjoong been asleep?

He sat up and checked the clock it was nearing five o’clock. How had he slept so long was beyond him, at least his headache had vanished. Hongjoong lifts his body from the couch and makes his way to the kitchen, he skipped lunch, might as well have an early dinner. He quickly made himself a sandwich with the ingredients available on the fridge, courtesy of the ‘hotel’.

He remembered having seen speakers in the living room, deciding to eat while listening to some music.

It was getting darker outside by the second. The barely-even-there sunlight that managed to pass through the thick foliage was turning a darker shade of orange with every tick of the clock. Hongjoong idly nibbled on his sandwich mesmerized by the dancing sunset tones rustled by the wind. Perhaps a walk in the darkness wasn’t the safest idea he’d ever had, however there was something urging him to explore the woods, to let go of any caution or other imprisoning thoughts.

Finishing off his meal he put on his hiking shoes and made his way outside, stopping by the coat rack to grab his and wrapping a scarf snugly around his neck. As soon as the frigid air hit his cheeks he felt that oddly enjoyable feeling of being warm and cosy despite his face being cold, inexplicable, but it was one of Hongjoong’s favourite sensations.

He considered wandering into the actual woods, the ones he could see from the living room window, but the now darkness that enveloped the whole area was a little off-putting for his first forest experience, he decided to go take a relaxing walk through the Hideout’s grounds. Maybe he could check how the lanterns he’d seen earlier in the little gathering area looked at night. Trailing back the way Yeosang had shown him he reached it in no time.

The pathways to each of the cabins were lit with small lights hidden between the stepping-stones of the tracks, giving off a very fantastical ambiance to the big area where they all converged. Hongjoong was quite happy with the accommodation option he’d picked. It was just how he had pictured it. It helped soothe the lingering feeling of loneliness he was bound to feel upon a fortnight alone…in a cabin…in the woods.

It had barely passed two days since he’d last seen his co-workers and best-friends Wooyoung and Mingi. Being the eldest one of the three Hongjoong felt almost protective of them, even though they were perfectly functioning adults ‒ he could almost hear Wooyoung’s exasperated tone reminding him. Maybe Hongjoong had parental instincts that were a touch more intense than most.

Now seated at one of the carved logs dispersed across the place, Hongjoong was lost in his thought reminiscing about his friends. Time passed by him faster than he could anticipate.

A rustle in the fallen autumn leaves brought Hongjoong back from his headspace. He quickly became alert of any movement that his eyes might catch. He was so distracted that upon hearing the unexpected sound his heart had begun beating rapidly.

Hongjoong slowly got up still on the look-out for any and every movement that could’ve caused the ruffling sound. From the corner of his eye Hongjoong noticed a small black shape moving at the edge of the path that led to his cabin. The creature was making its way towards the large area, Hongjoong realised it was a crow.

“Huh? I didn’t know crows were nocturnal,” he whispered into the night, “or so insistent on walking...”

He continued to discreetly observe the seemingly wandering crow. The bird started pecking at something on the ground. Hongjoong decided it was safe to move and lifted himself from the bench. The crow halted and looked sharply at Hongjoong. He froze unsure if the crow would be intimidated by him or downright aggressive ‒ it’s not like he had mingled with crows before. Heck, he hadn’t ever been as close to one.

The crow quickly deemed Hongjoong passive and resumed his activities: aggressively beaking at whatever-it-was that was on the ground. He began to take careful steps, trying not to startle the flying beast. It looked kind of cute, in that sort of Haloweeny way that makes carved pumpkins and spiders look festive and welcoming. Maybe it was the October feeling getting to him.

Hongjoong would kill for a slice of pumpkin pie right now, who knows if the nearest town had some. He decided to go there tomorrow and search for pumpkin spice items ‒ perhaps he could bake the pie himself. Yeah, that could be fun...

At the moment there were more pressing matters, he quickly focused back on the crow, who had moved away from the entry to the pathway. Great, now if he was very stealthy ‒ sadly not his forte ‒ he could pass by the crow and avoid getting attacked! That sounded like a very strong plan. Hongjoong managed to go almost three quarters of the way unnoticed, but then he’d crunched an especially crunchy leaf and the crow turned abruptly to him. Damn... he stood there trying to look as still as a statue (probably failing comically).

The crow began walking towards Hongjoong. Whose heart started to race at 100 kilometers per hour, he wasn’t afraid of crows, not even sassy pigeons could make him flinch. However, there was something about this specific crow that made Hongjoong feel the need to be more alert.

The bird having come closer, he could notice the details of the crow better, even though the faint light from the lanterns wasn’t the best.

Nervousness started pooling in his belly as the crow analyzed Hongjoong. ‒ Not even Halloween could make the crow look cute anymore, he took back what he had thoughy, the bird was ugly and evil and Hongjoong wanted to go cook himself some dinner and sleep. He had had enough of the scrutiny in the reddish darkness of the crow’s eyes. He took a menacing step towards the crow, whose step faltered and rapidly took flight to the opposite way, disappearing amidst the canopies.

Well that was certainly easier than anticipated, a little anti-climatic. The pent-up tension dissipating from Hongjoong’s shoulders like a cold shower.

A creeping thought that perhaps the crow had gone to call reinforcements tried to make its way into his mind but Hongjoong forced it away.

As soon as he reached his cabin, he took all the extra weight on him from all the coats and garments that, despite being cosy, were tiring him. He hopped on the shower and put his fluffy pyjamas on. Then proceeded to make himself a dose of mac and cheese that was available in the pantry. He wasn’t starving so he ate just what he needed and put the leftovers in the fridge. The inside of the cabin was warm because of the heating that condensation could be seen on the big living room window. Hongjoong took yet another moment to gaze outside. It was pitch black past the faintly lit tree trunks that were close enough to be bathed by the lighting coming from the cabin. The tiredness of the day was wearing him down once more. He decided to call it a day and climbed the stairs. As soon as his head hit the soft pillow Hongjoong took off to dreamland.

-

He woke up suddenly, the distinct feeling of being watched once again dragging him away from slumber.

By the looks of it, it was still dark outside, probably the middle of the night. He lifted himself to look at the screen of his cell phone. 03:36AM, it read. Hongjoong sat up in his bed looking at every direction possible.

Nothing...

He continued to inspect his surroundings, the previous feeling of being watched still lingering, faint but still there. Hongjoong stepped out of his bed and descended the loft stairs, the hairs in back of his head standing, heart pumping blood louder than ever before. Everything was as still as the night outside, not even a barely-there breeze seemed to be awake at those hours.

He walked around as soundless as possible, the fuzzy socks he was wearing offering a helping hand. Nothing seemed out of place. Not inside the house and definitely not outside of the big window. Luckily his night vision wasn’t too useless so he didn’t need to turn any lights on, making do with the mandatory presence and emergency lights from the appliances and exit routes. Hongjoong decided to go back to bed, it had probably been an animal or maybe it was just the dream he was having, it was about... he didn’t remember.

No matter now, he was going to finish his sleep and deal with anything in the morning. He climbed the stairs and tucked himself in bed, his eyes drooping even if his mind was still running a marathon.

-

The morning sun found Hongjoong preparing a few sandwiches for his day-long walk. As he finished up he arranged them neatly in his bag and cleaned after himself. He hadn’t slept much last night, actually, he had slept, but it was a very turbulent sleep.

The odd dreams and restlessness still prickling behind his eyelids.

The plans for today were simple, and hopefully not to tiring, but that depended on the terrain was flat or not ‒ he hoped for the former. He would stick to the plan, and leave the pie for another day. He was going to trek through the woods until around noon, then he’d find a nice spot to make a picnic and rest and finally he would reach the edge a famous cliff that overlooked a lower part of the forest and the mountains that surrounded the area, the view surely would inspire him. Fingers crossed.

He swiftly packed his sketchbook and a couple of art supplies, his water bottle and a couple of other trekking must-have items. Before exiting the cabin, Hongjoong checked every item in his bag, lest he forget anything. He locked the door on his way out.

He started his trek through a thoroughly trampled patch of grass, extending between the trees in seemingly endless zigzags. The peaceful morning air of the forest enveloped Hongjoong like a mother’s embrace. He felt a small serene smile tugging at the corner of his lips. So far, despite the sleeping troubles, it was going well. He was feeling calm and serene, maybe the inspiration would take less time to arrive than he anticipated.

The scenery was so refreshing, the cold and humid aura of the thick evergreen trunks, the pointy arrows of the crawling ferns and fleshy leaves of the creeping basketplants providing a comforting rustle to each and every step Hongjoong took towards his destination. The pathway grew thicker in grass the farthest he strayed from the cabin. Sunlight, filtered through the tall canopies of the cedars and spruces, touched Hongjoong’s skin, gently warming up the lit spots.

He kept walking, taking short stops every now and then to take a sip of water or check the compass. He followed the north-pointing arrow, finally deciding to find a nice place for a lunch break when he felt the emptiness in his stomach. He tried to listen to any water sounds in the distance, he would hit jackpot if he found a nice creek or small river to eat beside. From his map and his position calculations, he shouldn’t be far from either. He couldn’t hear anything but distant birds and the wind petting the trees. Well, better not stray away from his main path, the last thing he wanted was to get lost on his first walk ‒ if he could never get lost he would prefer that.

Looking around Hongjoong saw some sun peeking through at a particular place a little way away from where he was, perhaps it was a clearing, he had packed a picnic blanket, anticipating the probability of having to settle on grass instead of a riverbank.

He walked in the direction of said clearing, careful to where he put his foot, since there was no previously treaded path. As soon as he got close enough, he could see how big and beautiful it was, the sunlight exposure made the grass look a little yellower. Less rocks and less moss made for an almost field-like look.

Hongjoong pondered if it was a place frequented by a herd of sorts, deer maybe, since the grassy flooring had a sort of pressed appearance, as if something had laid on top of it. He didn’t notice any visible deer tracks, but he was far from a hunter, so he wouldn’t really be able to identify past the more obvious evidence.

He found a suitable place to set his blanket and sat on it, immediately feeling the relief in his arteries and veins. He sighed contentedly.

He rummaged through his bag and retrieved one of his sandwiches and his water bottle.

He was almost reaching the cliff, according to his own guidance. The trees were beginning to grow sparse, meaning Hongjoong was nearing the edge of the forest. Said edge soon became crisp, trees stopping abruptly a couple of meters away from Hongjoong’s calm but steady steps, the crunch of the leaves growing softer with each inch he treaded. He felt warm, the hiking had surely helped, his undergarments were heated with the layers and work.

He walked across the grassy field that stood between the mountain and the cliff. The edge of the cliff was as crisp as the forest’s.

He leaned a little, putting some force on his feet, keeping his gravity centre as close to the field as possible. He could see how high it was, the forest below looking like a park in a window of a skyscraper. Hongjoong felt the strange pull of a vertigo narrowing his vision, tiny sparks of adrenaline causing a smile to pull at his lips. It was enthralling, looking down the cliff.

He could make out cultivated plots in the distance and he could see the snowy mountains lining the horizon. The immensity of nature engulfing him in its embrace.

Finally, he felt the urge to create something. Right now it wasn’t music, no he wanted to draw. It could be anything, he just needed to capture the feeling and put it on paper.

He pulled his backpack and took his art supplies out. Hongjoong fished a soft tip pencil and his sketchbook. A graphite sketch seemed fitting. Something he could pick up and mould. Sitting at a safe distance from the edge, Hongjoong sketched.

He didn’t notice the time passing by, revelling in the cool breeze the naked cliff offered, and the surge of inspiration that the landscape gifted him mercifully.

He was ecstatic. With so much work to get done in his daily studio life, Hongjoong barely had any time or energy left in the weekends to dedicate to his hobbies ‒ even some of his houseplants had died due to his nine to five schedule, five in the morning, not the normal one. Hongjoong rarely knew when to stop. The studio didn’t pay him the extra hours, but Hongjoong felt wrong leaving unfinished work for the next day, it felt like an unscrubbable stain. Sp he stayed till the wee hours of the morning, until the cleaning employee had to kick him out to be able to do their job. It wasn’t too laborious, it wasn’t like he was missing out on anything at home. Just laundry and dishes slowly rotting while waiting for him. Well yeah, maybe Hongjoong was a teeny weeny lonely, but it wasn’t because he wanted a significant other or anything, no, absolutely not. Hongjoong was very happy being single, yes, he was independent and self-sufficient he didn’t need anyone to care for him. He simply missed living with other people, coming home to some noise, something he hadn’t chosen, anything. His new job had brought him to a new exciting city, but away from his family. His friends were great, but they were also his co-workers, so he spent a lot of time with them, at the studio. Hongjoong sighed, his pencil slowing down until he brought his hand to a stop. Great, his thoughts had wandered back to his life and to the studio and his inspiration and creative drive wore off, like some sort of potion effect. Rolling his shoulder to alleviate some of the tension on the shoulders, Hongjoong packed his supplies and put on his backpack and the scarf he had discarded earlier when it fell on his sketchbook. He got up and looked back at the forest. He should probably head back.

-

Hongjoong had no idea where he was supposed to go. Fuck. Maybe he really should’ve tied the string like he’d read in some survival 101 wikihow he found online. He looked in every direction trying to rake through his memories see if any leaf shape or stone sparked something, anything. He took out his compass once again. He’d come north so he should be going south, right? He looked to where the south pointer was directing.

The abrupt edge of land that had looked mesmerizing now looked mocking.

The cliff was south, but how... Logically, he had followed north to the cliff so now he should follow south to go back home.

Could his compass be broken, maybe the pointers had somehow switched, was that a thing compasses did? Hongjoong didn’t know! He studied music for goodness’ sake, he knew compasses had magnets or something, and they pointed towards magnetic north, but that was the extent of his knowledge on guidance mechanisms. He wasn’t aware that they could break down, besides, in films, the pointers usually went around in circles and didn’t stop.

He looked down at the device, once more. The half-red half-silver pointer was wavering slightly but still determined: north towards the forest, south towards the cliff.

He was screwed.

Well he had come through the woods so north it was. He packed the compass in his pocket and began making his way to the forest. Slowly but steadily, the trees started enveloping him, like a distant relative’s embrace: not familiar but not foreign either. He decided to go with his instinct for once. He wasn’t going to rely on his sketchy compass, his gut was his last resort.

Well he had his phone, although he was almost certain there was no reception. He took his phone out. Emergency calls only, on the top left corner ‒ classic. The numbers on the screen, however, pulled his attention for another alarming reason.

6:06PM, it read.

Oh no no no no. It had taken him over two hours from his cabin to the cliff, not counting breaks and wandering. The sun was almost setting, how had he been so reckless!

This was unacceptable! Hongjoong couldn’t believe this. He had planned this walk thoroughly, and somehow, he ended up a full two hours late. How did he lose track of time? What was he thinking?! There are bears and wolves in the forest, not to mention being in the fucking forest at night!

He hadn’t noticed his breath was coming out shallow and uneven, his lungs feeling as if they were constricted. The familiar weight of anxiety was pressing on his plexus.

Hongjoong snapped out of his whirlwind of self-punishing thoughts. He didn’t need to deal with that right now. He tried to regain control of his breathing, but that proved to be a bit of a challenge. The previous embrace of the trees now feeling foul and treacherous. He counted, counted the veins in the bark of the nearest oak‒ ... 21,22,23,24. His breathing had gone back to normal by the time he finished. Hongjoong was calm and collected, he needed to be pragmatic about this situation. He had battery on his phone. The plan would be simple, try to get as near the cabin as quickly and cautiously as possible‒ the last thing he needed now was a twisted ankle‒ if he hadn’t made it back by 8PM he would call the emergency number. That was a good plan.

Hongjoong was feeling a little more confident. He noticed he had wasted some time gathering himself, the sky turning orange. He began a rhythmic power-walk through a seemingly trampled patch of grass. Hongjoong silently prayed it was from people stepping on the grass and not some bear who’d recently been there.

By the time he had to fish his dynamo-powered flashlight, he had made quite the progress, or so he hoped. It all looked the same to him, but he didn’t want to acknowledge it. The sounds of the forest had changed along with the daylight, the chirping of birds was replaced by the unmistakeable sound of the cicadas, every now and then an owl hooted and even more rarely Hongjoong could hear pecking or some light footsteps rustling the dried leaves. He could be anxious sometimes but at least he wasn’t a scaredy-cat, not that there was anything wrong with being scared, it just wouldn’t be very helpful, given the circumstances. 

Looking up, Hongjoong noticed what looked like a clearing, he once again prayed to the god above, or the forest spirits or whoever would listen, that it was the same clearing he had lunched at. He rushed towards it, searching for any recognisable signs. It looked like the same one, the vast yellowy pressed grass, looked practically the same, only now, the colours were muted by the night, and the whitish hue of his flashlight didn’t do them any justice. He looked once more around the clearing, feeling relief wash over him, not entirely ridding him of the worry, just like a quick shower before exiting the beach, ridding of the salt but not cleansing. For now it gave him renewed strength to keep going.

He noticed something move, from the corner of his eye. Again? A dark silhouette was coming into view. Hongjoongs heartbeat spiked up to its maximum speed. Without thinking, Hongjoong directed his flashlight right at the dark form.

“Ugh! Please turn that thing away from my eyes,” a soft but deep voice complained. Hongjoong stood on his ground, keeping the light shining directly at where he thought the persons eyes were.

“Not until you tell me who you are!”, Hongjoong sent back.

“I- I’m Park Seonghwa, I am staying at the cabins near this area!” the man, Park Seonghwa, said in an urgent tone, gesturing vaguely behind him. The cabins, thank god. Hongjoong lowered the light beam, now illuminating the ground around them. “Thank you, although I might be temporarily blind now. I’m sorry I scared you. As I said I’m staying at the cabins, The Great King’s Hideout, you know?”

Hongjoong nodded, barely visible in the faint light. “I was going on a night walk and saw some lights, decided to check it out see if it was someone who got lost or...” he trailed away.

Park Seonghwa was tall, that much was visible to Hongjoong. His eyes were dark and big, with little stars reflected in his pitch black irises. He was wearing a huge fluffy puffer coat. His hair was probably of a lighter colour judging by the almost bluish tone it took in the night.

“I was almost lost, actually,” Hongjoong added shyly, reluctant to let a complete stranger think he was uncapable of taking a walk in the woods by himself, like a little kid‒ he stopped his thoughts. Not the time for self-inflicted nagging, as Wooyoung had once called it. He took a deep breath, focusing his eyes on Park Seonghwa, “Thank you, not a lot of people would have the... courage to check something in the woods.” He mentally cursed himself for his lack of eloquence.

“It’s nothing, if I hadn’t noticed it was just one man, I would’ve kept quiet and stay out of view.” Park Seonghwa brought a hand to his nape just like shy anime characters do. “You didn’t look very menacing,” he said with the hint of a smile. “Are you staying at the cabins as well?” he asked.

“Yeah, I am.”

“Do you need help getting back, my cabin is pretty close,” Park Seonghwa said, pointing with his thumb to his back,” if you wanna go there and follow the trails, it’s probably easier than going, you know.” He gestured vaguely towards the dark woods.

“Uh, yeah that’s a good idea.” Hongjoong began walking slowly towards where the other man was standing, who followed soon enough. Walking side by side, Hongjoong illuminated the way for Park Seonghwa to lead. They slowly re-entered the forest, and after walking a couple of minutes some yellow lights were visible in between the trunks, perhaps fifty meters away.

“That’s my cabin,” Park Seonghwa said, breaking the slightly awkward‒ in Hongjoong’s opinion‒ silence.

“What’s your cabin’s number?” Hongjoong said.

“Number 3, yours?”

“6, it’s a bit further away,” He replied making use of his photographic memory to recall the Hideout’s map. He had a general idea of his location. Maybe Park would know, he seemed to know his way around here pretty well. “So, Mr. Park how long have you been staying here?”

“Oh, please,” he said flustered, “Just Seonghwa is okay, and it’s been 5 days.” He looked a bit flushed, now that they were close enough for the outdoor lights of the cabin to illuminate them. Hongjoong had been right, Seonghwa had blonde hair, a darker shade, it reminded him of fields of wheat and hay bales.

They reached the cabin’s front door. Now, in the bright outdoor lighting, he could really see Seonghwa. Hongjoong was an honest man, and it would be a lie to call Seonghwa anything except handsome. He really was something. Disconcerting how well he fit into Hongjoong’s type. It was as if the gods were onto him, trying their best to keep him away from his creative work. Shoving some statue of a man who’d swooped in to save Hongjoong from the lurking monsters of the forest. It sounded like a bad novel.

“Hum, do you need me to show you how to get to your cabin?” Seonghwa’s voice broke his little bubble of thoughts. Dammit, he hadn’t realised he’d spaced out, now it was awkward, cause he had been standing there like a lunatic.

“Oh no, thank you! I think I’ve got it... “He looked around. He didn’t really know where to go, so he added, “Actually, could you tell me which way leads to that big open area with the tables and fire pit, you know?”

“Yeah, I do,” he said, flashing a smile. He pointed towards a little wooden gate. “This way, I’ll take you there.”

“Are you sure? You can just tell me the directions...”

“It’s no problem really!” He started walking through the little gate Hongjoong accompanying him. “You’ve asked me how long I’ve been staying here, so I’ll shoot you the same question,” Seonghwa said, mirth playing on his grin.

“Two days, this being the second one,” Hongjoong answered. “Way to start the trip, getting lost in the woods.” He thought for a bit before adding, sheepishly, “By the way, sorry about earlier, the whole flashlight thing. Wasn’t cool.”

“Oh no need to apologise, I understand. I came out of nowhere in the middle of the night, in a forest no less. It’s only natural you defended yourself!” He held his hands in refusal of Hongjoog’s apology. “I don’t think you told me your name yet?” He smiled expectantly, eyebrows slightly raised. Even his eyebrows were pretty.

“Oh yeah, uh... Hongjoong,” he spluttered unattractively, immediately chastising himself for it. They were reaching the open lounge area, He’d been so focused on Seonghwa, he couldn’t point the way back even if he tried, although he suspected it was just following the path. He didn’t remember seeing any detours, but then again, he wasn’t paying a lot of attention to the details of their journey. “Again, thank you so much for showing me the way back. I wouldn’t have been able to do it on my own. You really saved me back there.” Okay Hongjoong needed to stop, he was starting to sound like a needy helpless kid, and that was not the sort of impression he wanted Seonghwa to have of him. Not that it had been a great first impression.

“Well then, Hongjoong, it was an honour saving you,” Seonghwa said with a mischievous smile playing at his lips, “Hopefully we’ll bump into eachother again sometime.” He winked, turning away and walking back the way they had come. Hongjoong didn’t know what to make of that ending, but he knew one thing. He hoped really hard he’d bump into Seonghwa a couple more times.

So what, Seonghwa was hot a Hongjoong had eyes, sue him.

He made his way back to his cabin, the same path he’d treaded alongside Yeosang, yesterday. As soon as he reached the cabin, he threw his things at the bottom of the suede couch, made himself a quick meal and called it a day.

If his dreams were honey coloured it was his subconscious’ fault.

**-**

Noon found Hongjoong drawing on the cabin’s porch, he’d overslept a bit due to the exhaustion from last night’s events. His inspiration had come again, albeit not as intense, but Hongjoong didn’t want to dwell on why it was so, simply seizing the opportunity. He hadn’t felt any melody or concept that could develop into a song, or, if God was merciful, an album. So far, he’d been able to squeeze a couple of sketches and one full drawing. It was a huge success and Hongjoong was proud of himself for having been able to find some inspiration in so little time. He was looking forward to these next days and what surprises they would hold.

He put his supplies aside, going to the kitchen to cook himself some noodles. On his schedule today was a self-care day. He had changed his plan to get pumpkin and spices from the nearby town in favour of a berry-picking walk. He’d pick some wild berries, as there was a woodland foraging guide provided by the cabin. He’d bake a pie and have a relaxing bath, who knows maybe the steam could help his creativity flow better ‒ he didn’t really believe it but it was worth a shot. With some luck he’d pick some mushrooms and herbs and even make his mom’s famous stew.

Hongjoong put the blackberry-filled basket on top of the counter, he picked out the mushrooms and sprigs of rosemary and mint leaving only berries. He set out all the ingredients and washed the berries. Preparing all the utensils and pans and setting out his phone with a blackberry pie recipe on display. About thirty minutes later, the pie was in the oven and he was stirring the pot, which the herbs and mushrooms were infusing the creamy stew enveloping the soft-boiled vegetables and the finely cut beef. The cosy and nostalgic smell of his mom’s stew filled the whole cabin.

Hongjoong felt a warm feeling pool at his chest. Maybe he should make some time to visit his parents, yeah he was definitely doing that.

After making any seasoning corrections to the stew, he served a plate for himself and sat at the dinner table. He’d rearranged the table so it was near the window, allowing for him to dine and look out into the greenery he was now almost familiar with. Hongjoong started eating, feeling the creaminess and earthiness of the stew, pieces of slow-cooked beef melting inside his mouth. The sun was setting, the canopies only leaving a few dots of pink and orange light through. He sighed contently. It had been a great day, the berry-picking and mushroom foraging had been almost therapeutic. Feeling the warmth of the afternoon through the thick fleece of his jumper had proved to be as cosy as a woolly blanket to snuggle with. Sooner than he’d wished his spoon clanked against the bottom of his plate. The sweet smell of the pie assaulting his nostrils as he neared the oven. He peeked through the window, the edges of the pie crust and the woven lid were perfectly toasted. He put on the oven mitts and carefully removed the pastry from the oven. It looked divine, just as it should.

As he cut himself a slice the door bell rung.

Odd.

Hongjoong set the knife he’d been using aside wiping his hands on his apron. He approached the door and lifted himself on his tippy-toes to see through the little window who was ringing his door. He was met with a vaguely familiar silhouette on the porch.

Seonghwa.

His figure was turned a little to his left giving Hongjoong a focused perspective of his right profile. Hongjoong stopped staring, because his legs were cramping. He turned the key and the door knob. Seonghwa’s face promptly turned to him, a small smile making its way across his features.

“Hongjoong, hi!” Seonghwa greeted, accompanied by a somewhat stiff wave.

“Good evening, I wasn’t expecting you...,” Hongjoong trailed off a bit uncertain, had he made any plans with the other and forgotten them? He quickly trashed that idea, there was no way he could forget any plan with Seonghwa.

“Sorry! Is this a bad time? I didn’t mean to interrupt,” He apologized.

“Oh no! I was about to finish dinner, is everything alright?”

“Yes, everything’s alright. I was just... uh... going on my night walk and today is going to be a cloud-less night, which means the sky will be just right for star gazing and so, I was walking to a clearing and since your cabin was on the way I thought you might be interested in coming along or maybe not, but well, so I came by to ask you if you wanted to come... with me?” Seonghwa finished his borderline chaotic rambling. Hongjoong couldn’t help but grin, it was kind of adorable, the way Seonghwa tripped through his words. Was he shy? Nervous? Hongjoong felt his heart flutter. Damn him if he wasn’t feeling extremely flattered about having an incredibly hot man being flustered because he wanted to ask Hongjoong to go star gazing with him. Star gazing. Like a romantic novel or something. Hongjoong would swoon if Seonghwa wasn’t looking at him expectantly with his big dark-golden eyes, like a candle-lit treasure room.

“Yeah, I’d really like that,” Hongjoong answered in a tone he hoped was reassuring. The blond’s tenseness fell like satin upon hearing the answer. He flashed a brilliant smile at Hongjoong.

“Great, it doesn’t have to be now, in fact the darker the better. Also, you mentioned you haven’t finished eating,” Seonghwa said rapidly, “I can come back later, or we can meet up somewhere-“

“Actually, I was about to cut into a freshly baked blackberry pie, if you want you can come in and we’ll share it,” Hongjoong interrupted anticipating another ramble. He opened the door completely moving aside as to invite Seonghwa in. Yeah, they’d just met and stranger danger blah blah. Hongjoong was a capable adult and Seonghwa was so adorable and shy, there was no way he posed any danger.

“Really? Thank you so much, that sounds delicious!” Seonghwa climbed the little doorstep and came into the cabin. He smelled of bergamot and cedar, Hongjoong fought the urge to sniff the other, as it would’ve been highly creepy.

“Did you eat dinner already?” The shorter male asked.

“Yeah I did, thanks. I will definitely take you up on the pie offer though.” Seonghwa shrugged his coat looking around for a bit before hanging it on the coat rack by the door. “It smells ridiculously good here.”

“Well I took it out of the oven just now.”

Seonghwa hummed happily in response then asked, “So, how have you been liking your stay so far?”

“Despite recent events, it’s been very productive. I came here with the purpose of defeating my creative block, you know?” He glanced at Seonghwa to see if he was following, to which he got a nod in return, he continued, “And as far as that is concearned it’s going great.”

“I’m glad,” said the blonde, “and it has to do with your job?”

“Uh yeah, it does. I’m a music producer.” Hongjoong always thought he looked braggy by having a cool job, but alas.

“That’s really cool! What genres do you usually work with?” Seonghwa’s eyes took a naive sparkle to them, awfully endearing. Honjoong had never had sentence be the first said to him upon hearing his job, it was usually something along the lines of: do you have any hits, how many celebrities you’ve worked with... Seonghwa was refreshing.

“Mostly hip-hop and pop.”

“Wow, that’s really cool.”

Honjoong set a pie slice in front of Seonghwa, who was now seating in the free place at the dining table. He cut another slice for himself and sat at his seat once again. He noticed he hadn’t offered any drinks to his guest. Upon his offering Seonghwa politely refused, saying the pie was more than enough. Hongjoong thought he was just being too polite and nice, but didn’t press on the matter.

-

Hongjoong laughed – it was a giggle but he had to cling to his dignity – for the fifth time in a row, Seonghwa was fun to be around, his storytelling was refreshing. It wasn’t the punchlines or dramatic acting, it was the naive, almost childlike way he expected the events to happen but they’d always work out like Hongjoong would’ve predicted. The other wasn’t particularly hilarious, that wasn’t what made the musician laugh. It was because he was truly enjoying the evening. Seonghwa took a third slice from the plate.  


“This pie is heavenly. I cannot bake to save my life, sadly, so I have an extra amount of consideration for your pie-making skills,” Seonghwa said between polite mouthfuls of crumbling crust and tangy berries. “If I had to guess I’d say you’re more of a blueberry person.”  


“Why blueberries?” asked Hongjoong perplexed.  


“Well your hair, the round cut and the blue colour remind me of blueberries,” he responded. Hongjoong noticed the slight red tint colouring the other’s ears– endearing, yet again. Hongjoong laughed, for real this time, open-mouthed and cackling sounds (unlike the giggling that took place earlier).  


“A blueberry, that’s a new one. I already got _Powerade_ and aquarium mascot but not blueberry. Thank you though resembling a berry is much more flattering than a sports drink.” Hongjoong added a ‘cheers’ motion to his tea mug for dramatic effect.  


“Anytime,” Seonghwa said, an easy grin on his lips, “but seriously, an aquarium mascot, how?”  


“Well, on the first day at work after dying my hair blue, it was a lot brighter than now. My friend and colleague Mingi said I looked like this aquarium mascot that he used to like as a kid. It was an otter... with a blue bucket hat,” Hongjoong deadpanned. Seonghwas eyebrows shot up and his eyes quickly ran through his face as if accessing the resemblances Hongjoong had with an otter with a blue bucket hat.  


“An otter?”  


“Yup.” He popped the ‘p’  


“I disagree with your friend, clearly a blueberry,” Seonghwa said, finality in his tone.  
Hongjoong let out a soft chuckle, “Yeah I think your choice is better too, the otter was pretty cute but still...” he trailed away letting the subject die along with the volume of his voice.  


“What time is it?” Seonghwa glanced to the clock on the kitchenette. “Nine already, time does fly when the company is good,” the last part almost mumbled through the last bite of pie.  
Hongjoong felt giddy after hearing those words, feeling a surge of confidence he said, “Me or the pie?”  
Seonghwa looked at him, big pools of amber gold, and then his face took a whole new expression. The air almost seemed to shift around them.  


“I don’t usually eat my company, not on the first meeting, at least.”  
Hongjoong choked on his own saliva. What happened to wide-eyed naive Seonghwa? Now he was flirting, rather shamelessly, with him? Seonghwa chuckled lightly at the other’s reaction.  


“Second, ” Hongjoong said, surprising himself because not only he managed that while still trying to get his breathing to normal, and also because he was flirting??? Was that a good idea, considering they were in Hongjoong’s cabin, and he was very touch-deprived, not a good sum.  


“I didn’t think a night-time rescue counted,” Seonghwa said.  


“As what? ” Hongjoong posed.  


Seonghwa leaned a bit towards Hongjoong, closing the distance between them a couple of inches, lowering his voice he chuckled and smirked. Then he sat back in his chair, and, as if nothing even happened, complimented Hongjoong’s baking skills, again. “If we want to catch the perfect night sky we should go now, it’ll take us five minutes, maybe less, to get to the best spot,” he added with a perfectly innocent face.

He really was something.

Hongjoong had to fight the urge to shake that feeling away, the remaining heat in his cheeks, before responding with a ‘hum’ and putting the plates in the sink.

They left the cabin and, led by Seonghwa, got to the clearing at the estimated time. Seonghwa had been right, it was the perfect night sky. Above them a million stars glimmered fiercely against the blackness that surrounded them.

The moon was nowhere to be seen. Hongjoong could make out perfectly the Milky Way, across the sky like a streak of little lights. Back in the city, it was downright impossible to be able to see something like this, too much light, too much pollution, too many things to do. Hongjoong felt a surge of fascination, the immensity of the universe looming over him, not in an intimidating way, but an affectionate way. Like a priceless gift, overwhelming, but a way to show love. He looked at Seonghwa, whose eyes were darting around, as if he was trying to commit every one of those stars to his mind.

Suddenly Seonghwa’s voice broke the silence, “Can you find any constellations?” He looked from the corner of his eye to Hongjoong. Goosebumps rose all over his arms and neck. Seonghwa looked so good beneath the night-lights. His eyes looked as deep and watery as ever, enticing Hongjoong with the dancing stars in them. He didn’t know how much time he’d been staring, mouth slightly ajar, at the blonde but the other noticed, scooting closer from his position.

“Is my face more mesmerizing than the stars?” he asked, feigned innocence painting his features.

“I- I- mean, n‒” Hongjoong spluttered, feeling the blush he had battled a few times this evening, win the final confrontation.

Seonghwa smiled, a lovely smile tinted with only a little mischief. He leaned in, hand coming up to Hongjoong’s cheek. The blue-haired boy felt only the other’s lips on his before fully comprehending what was happening. Seonghwa was kissing him. Oh. Despite the short-circuiting, Hongjoong managed to kiss back, feeling the warmth pool in his belly, the craving for touch pulling his arms as if he was a puppet. Seonghwa’s hand trailed his jaw down to his neck, curling his fingers. The kiss was slow and patient, each one of them taking the time to get comfortable in it.

A flinch sparked through Honjoong’s spine causing him to push the other away, abruptly ending the kiss. Seonghwa looked confused but a little dishevelled, he didn’t even dared to look at the blonde’s lips or else he would get distracted.

“We’ve only just met. Yesterday,” Hongjoong managed to croak out.

“Yes. Is that a problem?” Seonghwa asked, tongue peaking out of his mouth to wet his lips. Damn, Hongjoong had totally followed the whole movement. He couldn’t even remember what he’d said just now. It didn’t seem important at all, he leaned in, feeling Seonghwa’s smile when their lips connected.

-

The moon was visible now, watching Hongjoong’s sappy grin from the big window. It had to be around midnight, but sleep couldn’t catch his mind. It was running twice as fast as usual, replaying all the sweet moments of his night. The soft caresses in the back of his neck, the pressure of the kisses he still felt on his neck, the smell of Seonghwa clinging on his hands.

Fuck, being needy wasn’t Hongjoong’s trademark, but somehow the ache in his knuckles didn’t know that.

He felt giddy, alert. He wanted to spend the whole night transferring those memories to paper, in drawings or words, or notes. He hand’t even noticed that feeling. Inspiration, pulling at his tired mind as a child pulling their parent for some play-time.

He sat up in the couch, where he’d previously thrown himself, like some 90’s romcom girl with a crush. He got up and grabbed his laptop. He opened his favourite producing software.

A couple of hours later he had a couple of things he could work with, some melodies, some concepts and some beats. Of course, since he wasn’t in the studio, he could only do so much. But, for now, it was more than enough.

He glanced at the tiny clock on the bottom of his screen it read 3:36. It was really late, after so much time looking at his screen his eyes were heavy and tired. He shut his laptop down, and went to get ready to sleep.

By the time he was arranging that blankets around him, a sound rumbled through the structure of the cabin, startling Honjoong. He quickly climbed out of the bed and descended the stairs. It sounded as if something big had collided with the walls.

A scraping sound made its way through the kitchen, from top to bottom.

Hongjoong’s mind quickly reminded him of the probability of it being a bear. He made his way around the house to the little window at the end of the bedroom that overlooked part of the kitchen. He peeked, hoping to see who was causing the sounds. He only saw the night, the edges of the cabin fairly illuminated by the outdoor lights.

A pitch-black silhouette appeared in the distance, enourmous and menacing. The creature was coming into the lights. As soon as it stepped in the lights Hongjoong realised it was no bear, it was a wolf, a gigantic wolf. He didn’t know wolves could be that big. He felt fear pump toxic blood in his veins, his heartbeat increasing as he spied each movement of the beast. His vision funnelling ashis breaths became shallower and shallower. He couldn’t get a grip on himself. The threat in front of his eyes cornering him in panic.

The beast slowly raised hi head, looking straight at the little window Hongjoong was watching from.

Its red eyes boring into Hongjoong’s.

-

Hongjoong woke up feeling slightly light-headed, almost as if he was still dreaming. He snuggled into his sheets and pillow, feeling the extra hours he’d stayed awake bribing his laziness into letting him sleep more. He reached for his phone on the bedside table. Looking at the watch, he read 3:03 PM.

He shot up, neck complaining at the speed of his movements. He’d more than overslept. He tried to remember the time he’d gotten in bed but the memories were too fuzzy. He dismissed it and decided to take a shower, to will the sleep away. God knows he was gonna have puffy eyes for the rest of the day.

After getting dressed, he made his way to the kitchen. He opened the fridge his eyes zeroing in on the pie.

Suddenly all the butterflies were set loose in his belly. He didn’t even try to fight the dumb smile from his face. He couldn’t believe he’d only just remembered the actual reason he stayed up until late.

Seonghwa and his stupid straightforwardness, causing them to make out last night instead of gazing the stars. Hongjoong was definitely not complaining. It was what he was needing apparently, judging by the sheer amount of work he had done.

Now that he thought about it he had no way to contact Seonghwa except going to his cabin, and he knew the blonde wasn’t one to sit around in his cabin.

Hongjoong took the pie out and served himself a slice, heating it up in the microwave. It wasn’t necessarily the healthiest breakfast, but at this time of the day who cared about that anyway.

He wondered if maybe Seonghwa had come looking for him and since no one answered the door he had left. If that was the case Hongjoong hoped he didn’t give up, or worse, misinterpret the situation. What if Seonghwa had not come looking for him because he thought it had been a huge mistake, although that didn’t abide well to the fact that Seonghwa had kissed Hongjoong first. That and the fact that he’d had plenty of time to reconsider and push Hongjoong away, but he hadn’t. Okay, but what if‒ A ring at the door woke him up from his spiralling thoughts.

Hongjoong was still in his pajamas, hair sticking in every direction, despite that, he went to the door, opening it without checking who it was.

He was greeted with the same whitish irises and customer smile that had shown him this very cabin.

“Yeosang! May I help you?” Hongjoong asked, unaware of the pie crumbs clinging to his chin.

Yeosang flashed an even brighter smile and answered, “Oh, I was just making a round to see if everything is okay and to bring you the pantry restock you ordered.” He stuck a lovely wicker basket into Hongjoong’s hands. “Is there anything else you need? Any complaints or remarks I should be aware of?”

“Everything is more than okay, but, I don’t remember ordering any restock.” Hongjoong was utterly confused, had the fuzzy after-hour memories he had been from some four AM shopping. He doubted.

Yeosang laughed a melodious laughter, like an adult enjoying the silly antics of a kid. “Of course you don’t,” he said. “Well, if all is well I shall be going, see you around. Remember if you need anything call the reception.” With those final words, he turned on his heels and left. Hongjoong couldn't decipher whether it was his slow barely awoke brain or had Yeosang actually been almost gliding through the terrain.

-

Hongjoong was hesitating, should he really knock on Seonghwa’s cabin door. They were already moving a little too fast, the blonde would definitely find him needy and then he’d never want to see his face again, and Hongjoong was already too attached for it not to weigh him down. This was ridiculous, he needed to get a grip of himself and at least, by the last little tiny piece of self-dignity he had left, be a little hard to get. Yeah that seemed like a solid plan. Get out of the vicinity of Seonghwa’s cabin and play hard to get. Solid enough to be his current plan A. First step is to g‒

He felt two hands snaking around his waist and a torso flush against the back of his puffy coat. Close to his ear a voice whispered, “So are you coming in or staying out in the cold?”

Damn, Hongjoong really underestimated Seonghwa back when he’d let him in his cabin yesterday. Hongjoong felt slow shivers running up and down his spine. The arms didn’t leave their place and Seonghwa back-hugged the short boy. Hongjoong tried to turn around but the blonde didn’t let him, pushing him ever-slightly so they could both walk to the porch, only then he let go of Hongjoong in favour of fishing his key out and opening the door.

Only then was Hongjoong able to see his crush’s face. It felt off calling Seonghwa his crush but that was what the blonde was, and he didn’t dare get into other ‒ possible ‒ labels.

Seonghwa’s cabin was made a darker shade of wood, just enough to make it feel smaller despite looking roughly the same size as Hongjoong’s. The rooms were different though. The living room was adjacent to the kitchen but separated by a half-wall with a window. Instead of a singular big window in front of the couch, there were two huge ones. Overall, there were differences.

“Your cabin is quite similar but different than mine,” Hongjoong noted.

“Yeah, it’s the concept I guess, even with the same facilities the design is different enough to feel like an entirely new cabin.” Seonghwa was shedding the layers of coats and jackets, hanging them neatly on an almost identical rack to the one adorning cabin number 6. Seonghwa got closer to Hongjoong, his facial features melting into fondness and a tiny hint of lust. “I’ve been thinking about last night, almost non-stop to be honest,” Seonghwa confessed no hint of blush except for the very faint redness on the tips of his ears, but that could be the cold.

The sun was starting to set, shifting the lighting to warmer tones. Seonghwa’s amber eyes gaining a slight incarnadine tone to them. The taller raised a hand towards Hongjoong’s neck and grabbed the zipper of his coat, opening it and ridding him of an unnecessary item.

Maybe he was trembling a little, it was probably from the frenzied butterflies raving inside Hongjoong’s stomach. But Hongjoong wasn’t going to be passive in this game of flirt ‒that was a thing, right?

He walked towards Seonghwa and circled his arms around the blonde’s shoulders. Pulling enough so that he could comfortably reach the other’s lips. Seonghwa hummed happily into the kiss, allowing Hongjoong to control it, for once. They kissed shallowly for some time before the blue-haired man decided to deepen the kiss. Pushing his tongue through Seonghwa’s lips, who granted him entrance. The taller led them to the couch, breaking the kiss to push Hongjoong on his back, laying across the suede love-seat. The smaller’s legs instinctively made space for Seonghwa to fit between them. Seonghwa brushed a couple of stray strands of blue from Hongjoong’s eyes, staring at them like a parched man who found fresh water. It felt groundbreaking, having someone who looked and was like Seonghwa look at him like that. It felt powerful. It didn’t take to long for them to resume the kiss, this time Hongjoong didn’t even try, submitting himself to Seonghwa’s hungry kisses, and getting hungrier by the second.

Both their lips were swollen from the incessant kissing, Seonghwa was now sucking light marks on Hongjoong’s neck, soothing the bruised area with a swipe of his warm tongue. Things were getting heated, the feeling of arousal pooling in Hongjoong’s belly, blood rushing downwards. Seonghwa sneaked a hand past the hem of the blue-haired boy’s sweater, cold fingers on the skin of his belly making Hongjoong flinch.

Seonghwa chuckled but upon no other contestation from the recipient of his affections, he resumed his ministrations on the other’s neck, now pressing his teeth in the soft flesh he pulled drawing soft moans from his victim. Hongjoong found he quite liked the feeling of the blonde’s teeth pressing just enough to hurt a little but not enough to be a bite. He was bound to have some hickies afterwards.

The hands on his stomach were roaming on his sides, sometimes groping his waist, other times simply caressing his body. Everything was a lot, considering the last time Hongjoong had engaged in such activities was about a year ago. Needless to say, he was touch-starved, and Seonghwa was eager to fill him.

Hongjoong’s train of thought came to a halt as a wave of pleasure washed over him, the taller’s hands having reached his nipples. Slowly rubbing against them, the stimulation was enough to make Hongjoong’s mind fog up with lust. Seonghwa detached his mouth from the other’s neck and watched his reaction as he switched from rubbing to rolling the boy’s nipples between his thumb and index. The once deep golden eyes were now completely red, like a washing machine filled with blood. Hongjoong had no mind to pay about that matter, his only thoughts: _more_. Seonghwa released his left nipple to pull Hongjoong’s sweater and bunched it under his arms, who let out a soft whine at the coolness but Seonghwa shushed him with a searing kiss. As their tongues met something prickled the short boy’s lips, feeling copper on his taste buds. Seonghwa immediately deepened the kiss controlling in completely. Soon enough he was kissing down Hongjoong’s jaw to his neck, skipping the sweater onto his chest. Seonghwa licked his lips while making eye contact before he dove on the other’s nipples. Hongjoong let a loud moan escape his lips, the blonde’s tongue swirling around his nipples and driving him almost near climax, it was that good ‒ and that bad for Hongjoong’s shape.

The metal taste in his mouth became stronger, Hongjoong took his own hand to his mouth, in a very dazed attempt to check for blood. To his surprise the spit in his finger’s was a translucent but bright red.

Hongjoong gasped in shock and asked, “Did you bite my lips that hard?”

Seonghwa slowly let go of the other’s chest and answered, slurring each vowel, “No need to.”

He smiled, a beastly smile, his previously blunt human teeth now resembling the fangs of a wolf. Big sharp canines on both rows, pearly white, framing equally sharp but smaller incisors.

The sight was like a cold shower, ridding Hongjoong of any trace of arousal. The red eyes now alarmingly lit, like hellish beacons. Hongjoong noticed it was nighttime, the sun had long set, leaving them in the darkness, the only source of clarity coming from the moonlight spilling in from the big windows next to them. Seonghwa calmly sat on the back of his own legs, watching Hongjoong’s breath start to quicken.

“Is the sight not pleasing, Joongie?” The nickname felt fowl coming from between the horrid teeth. “I know what you’re thinking,” the blonde continued, “‘but he looked so innocent and sweet how is he the same person?’ You wanna know how I know that?” he asked rhetorically. “Cause I thought the same, well except for the last part. When I met Seonghwa, immediately I knew he’d lure so many others in a very efficient way ‒ I mean, it took us what? Two days to get here, that’s a personal record.”

Hongjoong was lost, his heart pounding a mile a minute, his vision blurry with tears pooling in his lashes. Some spilled and trailed his cheek.

Seonghwa, or the monster, made a mockingly pitying face.

“No, don’t cry. It was inevitable, it’s not even my own fault, it’s because of the curse, yeah?” He smiled encouragingly, “It’s like... your fate, to become one with me!” His smile was almost manic now, bright red eyes wide and lips stretched too far.

Hongjoong had plans, he needed to see his parents, he needed to see his friends, he needed to find someone to settle down with, he never even saw a fox, it was one of the reasons he’d chosen a cabin in the woods. Slowly adrenaline started filling Hongjoong’s veins, pushing him into an instinctive mindset. Right now, he needed to _run_.

With the extra agility, Hongjoong managed to release his legs from their spot, around the monster’s waist. Now on his feet his sweater fell back down to cover his figure. As quickly as Hongjoong could, he fled towards the door, down the porch an‒

Seonghwa appeared right in front of him, blocking his way to the path.

Hongjoong didn’t stop, turning around and entering the woods, feet unfaltering. He ran as long as he could taking a couple lefts and rights towards where he thought would be his cabin.

The cool air of the October night chilling his bones, his sweater doing the bare minimum to keep him warm, even with the heat from the running. He ran for what felt like hours, his lungs burning and the endurance from the adrenaline now dissipating. Hongjoong noticed the trees clearing up in the distance, an exit.

He quickened his pace towards the exit, however, as soon as he reached it he recognized it.

The cliff.

Fuck... he was cornered, if Seonghwa caught up to him, he’d have no other place to run to.

Hongjoong turned back into the forest, resorting to finding his own cabin.

“That was very rude of you, Joongie,” the once sweet voice now ringing in his skull, like blasting horns on a hungover brain. The monster was at the entrance of the forest, slowly walking towards Hongjoong .“I wasn’t finished talking, you didn’t even ask me the mandatory ‘What are you?’” The monster used a mocking tone, feigning offence.

“Stay the fuck away from me! “ Hongjoong screamed, taking a defensive posture.

“Last time I checked you were the one who couldn’t stay away from me,” it said, vicious honey dripping from its every word. “Well, I’m tired of the chasing so I’ll cut right into it,” the beast said while rolling its eyes, “But are you really not curious about me? At all?”

Hongjoong’s eyes were trained on the monster’s every move, waiting for anything to happen.

The beast sighed affectedly. “If that’s how it’s going to be I’ll tell you anyways, just to spite you. Remember the crow you saw on your first little walk? That was me. Remember the wolf that made you faint? That was also me!” He made a hand gesture similar to a magician that reveals a dove. "Any guesses?”

“I‒ I fainted?” Hongjoong asked, the hidden memories from the encounter with the beastly wolf surging through his mind.

“Uh‒ That’s your question? You really are something...,” The beast sighed exasperatedly,

“Yes you did, but then I saved you, and tucked you in your bed.” The monster’s smile was once again disconcerting.

Fear was constricting Hongjoong’s guts. He had nowhere to run. He looked back at the beast, who was now only a couple of meters from Hongjoong.

“Since you’re a terrible guesser I’ll tell you the answer, I’m a shape shifter. I was cursed to be immortal but shapeless, and so I live, eternally needing to eat living beings and take their forms. And your time has come.”

“Why? Why me?” Hongjoong asked, dread making his insides feel like lead.

“’Cause you chose the Great King’s Hideout, it’s his fault, he was the one who cursed me. You might know him as Yeosang.”

“What‒ I’m‒ I...” Hongjoong was utterly lost, the feeling that his end was right in front of him making him unable to talk. Tears spilled from his eyes, streaming down his face as a sob broke from his chest. He looked at the beast through his tears, the red beams comforting and alluring, like novocaine.

The beast crossed the last steps separating the two of them, and embraced the small blue-haired boy. The creature that looked like Seonghwa kissed his tear-stained cheeks tenderly whispering _‘let go_ ’.

So Hongjoong did.

-

He woke up, calmly and comfortably, snuggling against the incredible softness of his sheets. The sunlight, filtered by the screens of the windows telling him the day had started. He sat up on the bed, lazily rubbing the sleepiness from his eyes. He got out of bed, walking towards the bathroom.

He leaned over the sink and poured the cold water running from the tap on his face, giving himself a couple of slaps for good measure. He looked in the mirror, blue hair dishevelled and a small face with puffy brown eyes looked back at him.

It worked.

-

**Author's Note:**

> AHhhh. I feel like I strayed a little from what you had imagined, but I hope you like my interpretation of the prompt. I have to say I never thought I'd write this much, but alas here we are. I wanted to make it spicier but i chickened out. Hope you enjoy this!!! ^_^
> 
> (bonus points for anyone who catches the minecraft references and the korean mythology reference)


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